Sushi Madness!

I love Sushi! I could eat it all day, EVERYDAY!. Making Sushi Maki is surprisingly easy. I remember the first time I made it at a friend's house about two years ago. It was so fun making the Maki roll from scratch and adding the kinds of fillings I wanted. It is a perfect way to spend time with friends or family. It is also an easy way to make something special for your special someone.

Usually Sushi Maki is made by using white rice as a base. At certain restaurants, I know it is possible to request your Maki with brown rice. I decided to give my Maki a new and healthy twist. I very rarely eat rice, so I wanted to find a way to make yummy Maki without using rice. I tried my luck with different kinds of bases in place of rice and on my first try I found that hummus was such a good base for a yummy and filling vegetable sushi Maki.

YUM! Just look at how delicious that looks!!!

 And trust me it tasted just as good. Its really very simple, easy and quick to make. The 3 key things to everything I make ;)

Equipment:

• Blender
• Spoon
• Sushi mat
• Knife

Hummus Ingredients:

• 1 can Chickpeas
• 1/2 teaspoon  Red Pepper
• 1/2 -  1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 - 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• A pinch of Sea Salt
• Juice of half a medium Lime/Lemon
• 1 teaspoon Parsley
• 1 Garlic Clove (optional, for the Sushi Maki I prefer my humus without the garlic)
• Water or Juice of humus (add as much as needed for the desired consistency. I find for the Maki base, the thicker the mixture the better.)

Sushi Maki Ingredients:

• Sushi Seaweed sheets (4)
• 2 medium carrots thinly sliced horizontally
• 3 celery stalks thinly sliced horizontally
• 1 big red pepper medium sliced horizontally
• Lettuce/Spinach/Kale
• 1/2 a medium avocado thinly sliced horizontally

Instructions:

1. Place all the Hummus Ingredients in the blender. Let the blender run until all the ingredients are mixed together. You want to have a lumpy and thick hummus consistency. Do not let it get too thin or too smooth.
2. Place a seaweed sheet on the Sushi Mat. Using the spoon, spread about two heaped tablespoons of the hummus on to the seaweed sheets. Make sure you spread it all the way to the edges. This is so that when you roll up the Maki it will stick and close properly.
3. Add the thinly sliced vegetables on to the hummus spread. Make sure you are placing the vegetables horizontal to the way in which you will roll up the Maki.
4. Add the lettuce/Spinach/kale on top of the sliced vegetables.
5. Roll up the Maki using the Sushi Mat.
6. Slice the Maki roll into sizable pieces.
7. Grab some chopsticks and enjoy this healthy yumminess!

Have fun with this. Experiment with different kinds of vegetable fillings. You can use this as part of a healthy lunch with some Zucchini noodles on the side (new recipe for this coming soon!).

Let me know what you think :)

Xx

Rati

Sandwich on the Go!

Dear Avocados, I love you! :D

They are a creamy ,wonderful and healthy goodness. A gift to our taste buds. Hahaha! So yes you can see how much I love them. :D

I partly grew up in Zimbabwe, Africa. In our backyard there is an avocado tree. When they were ripe and in season, my brothers and I would always make sure the house was filled with avocados. It was wonderful to just be able to pick avocados out of the tree! Africa is such a gift in that way.

So having avocados around, I found many ways to use them. This is a really quick and very easy recipe. I know for a fact we all just don't always have time to make an extravagant meal and I don't enjoy spending numerous hours in the kitchen making a meal. But just because a meal is quick it doesn't mean it cant be absolutely delicious.

So here's a recipe to a quick  and easy lunch on the go.

Ingredients:

• 2 Slices of whole grain bread (or 1 slice, if you want to make an open sandwich)
• 1/3 of a medium sized avocado
• 1 handful spinach
• Thin Cucumber slices
• 2 tablespoons cottage cheese
• 2 slices lunch meat (It can be turkey, beef or chicken. Even meat leftover from dinner last night. Whichever makes your taste buds happy)
• Black pepper to sprinkle (optional)
• Parsley to sprinkle (optional)
• Sriracha Hot Sauce (optional)

Recipe:

1. Toast bread until tender and crispy
2. Spread cottage cheese
3. sprinkle black pepper and parsley
4. Add cucumber slices and spinach
5. Slice the avocado and place on bread
6. Sprinkle Sriracha on top if desired
7. Close the sandwich up and ENJOY!

So simple. So good. So healthy. So filling.

I hope you enjoy this simple yummy sandwich.

Xx

Rati